News
Food for Living: Elevate Your Game
- Share
- Tweet /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 69
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Henry.jpeg&description=Food for Living: Elevate Your Game', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friend,
In the journey of life, everyone’s goal and desire is to constantly elevate their game. Elevating games means several things to different persons. To some, it is going up the ladder of success, while to others, it can be stepping up their game plan by scaling it up. Most of us are driven to succeed, yet it is amazing how many of us view the process of getting to where we want to go as a chore, rather than as the greatest, most fulfilling adventure of a lifetime.
The pursuit of success is our greatest gift, as it is exactly what develops our character and makes our lives extraordinary. When we have a goal in mind, we are instantly purposed. Succeeding comes down our mindset. Our mindset must be driven to succeed, to sacrifice and to have the resiliency and patience to chart our path.
In today’s business world, the only entities that will stay relevant are businesses and people who are willing go the extra mile to gain not only theoretical knowledge, but practical knowledge through learning, unlearning and relearning. In an evolutionary point of view, those who are not adaptable to change will not survive. This is the most reliable way of elevating your game. It’s quite unfortunate many corporate organizations don’t take time to learn contemporary skills and certification which will enable them to be ahead of their competitors. The same philosophy is applicable to progressive beings who don’t take time to improve themselves. When you elevate your game plan, opportunities will locate you. This is because you have set yourself apart from your contemporaries.
In elevating your game, it is important to mind who you spend time with, your network of friends, the books you read, the associations/organizations you relate with, and most especially, your mindset. It is instructive to note that you cannot achieve more than your imaginations can assimilate. According to Henry Ford, if you think you can and if you think you can’t, either way you’re right. It is pertinent to note that who you spend your life with will determine how your life will be. You cannot hang out with chicken and expect to soar. Isn’t it true that your friends can make or mar you? It is widely believed that, if you hang out with nine millionaires, you’ll be the next millionaire. Therefore, today, I charge you to look at your friends and see where you are likely to be in five years.
You can’t be doing the same thing over and over again and expect to get a different result. Always make it a point of duty to set new record for yourself. In setting a record, you have to be on the lookout for certain qualities you’ll like to learn. You can also check out the qualities you can learn from your friends. Whatever qualities your friends have is likely going to rub off on you. Just like spirits are transferable, bad friends can influence you with their character
Set Boundaries
In order for you to elevate your game, you need to set boundaries. For instance, If you’re going to reach your highest potential, you have to step up your game by raising the bar for only a select group of people who identify and share in your vision. You need to ask yourself hard questions on what you really want. Inferior minds are always concerned with what they’ll lose if they cut off from certain boundaries/person. They fail to ask themselves, like what is important to them? Money, fame, value or vision. If you are among these categories of people, who always ask what if I lose my business? I have a simple question for you, what if you miss your destiny?
When you’re in the process of elevating your game, what you’re unwilling to separate from, will continue to follow you. The law of the group says, we associate with people with the way we see ourselves. Happy people hangout out with happy people. What most people don’t know and understand is that twenty years from now nobody will care about your friends. It’s not about quantity if your friends but quality. A one loyal and impactful friend is better than ten general friends.
You shouldn’t apply sentiment in business. Don’t mix family and business together. It’s not a good business idea to do business with only people associated/connected with you, because they may not have the same spirit unlike strangers. Treat them with respect but relate from a distance.
In the journey of life, your joy is your joy, none can share it with you. What this really means is that your success and failure lies with you. If you don’t get the wrong people out, the right people won’t come.
How Can We Elevate Our Game
It is generally believed that one’s entrepreneurial journey won’t be such a grind if they learn to take joy in your growth along the way.
1. Start a personal project. Define a specific goal/project to realize in a specific period. It should be something that you absolutely feel is yours.
2. Get trusted advisors. It is time for you to stop taking suggestions from anyone who has an opinion. Search for a mentor who has the expertise in the industry you are passionate about.
3. Read as vast as you can. Trying to have knowledge about almost every aspect of life. In that way, it makes you to position yourself very well.
4. Run Your Race
To get to our next level we must focus on our own race. We must not succeed for anyone but ourselves. We must not pursue success to show up, get revenge, or take someone down that we fear is better. The reason race horses have blinders on their eyes is so they don’t get distracted by the other horses when they’re racing. The blinders do not allow the horse to see anything but what is in front of them. It forces the horse to stay focused on their own race. We must do the same thing. We all saw what happened in the Olympics with the South African swimmer and Michael Phelps. The South African was watching Phelps, and Phelps was watching the finish line. It’s no wonder Phelps won. We must each focus on our own finish line.
5. Keep the faith.
To elevate our game, we must always hold a vision of the next step in our process. The vision we hold is the picture of success we chase. We must drive, dig, grind and then let go, and have faith, as we witness how the results of our actions land. Every single day our eyes open in the morning, we must make sure we’re clear about what we want. We each have control over how hard and how smart we work; the rest comes down to having the faith that our efforts will pay off in the ways we want. The large majority of successful people work from faith. Faith is the energy that funds belief. Without belief, success isn’t a possibility.
6. You must believe.
The more we push ourselves beyond our perceived limits, the more we expand our belief in ourselves. This is exactly how we elevate to the next level. If we see a door that has a sign that says “limit,” “fear,” “I can’t,” “its not possible,” or “who are you kidding?” on it, we must take it upon ourselves to push through every single one of those doors. The majority of the time we will find that the signs on those doors were lies we’ve been telling ourselves. When we walk through them and achieve the “impossible,” we build our character and greatly increase the confidence we have in ourselves. The more confident we are, the more we elevate our game.
7. Be a team player.
One of the most important ways to elevate our game is to be inclusive. Success is a team sport. There’s an African proverb that says if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to far, go with a team. If we are selfish, and we try and hoard or hide our success, we won’t get nearly as far as when we choose to include others in achieving our goals. It’s teamwork that makes the dream work. When we’re on our mission and we see anyone on our team wearing thin, we must partner up and bring them along, and expect the same in return. We must drop our egos, and ask for help whenever and wherever necessary. We are much more resilient when we have a community of support to turn to.
What are you doing to elevate your game?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com
The Osun State Government has approached the High Court of Osun State seeking an order compelling security agencies to investigate Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi over his alleged threats against members and supporters of the Accord Party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The suit, marked HOS/M.157/26, was filed on August 12, 2026, at the Osogbo Judicial Division, three days before the August 15 election.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada (SAN), filed the application seeking an Order of Mandamus against the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command. Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East Senatorial District, was listed as the person affected or interested party.
The government said its action followed a video circulating on social media in which Fadahunsi was allegedly captured addressing a political gathering in front of the Owa Obokun’s Palace in Ilesha on August 11.
According to the court documents, the senator allegedly made statements interpreted as calls for violence against members of the Accord Party.
The government said a transcript and translation of the speech showed Fadahunsi allegedly directing supporters to attack Accord members wherever they encountered them and making threats against their families.
The court filings also alleged that the senator instructed his supporters to chase Accord members out of hotels where they were found and made derogatory comments about the party’s yellow caps.
The government further alleged that Fadahunsi threatened that the election would not hold if Accord members resisted the actions of APC supporters.
The Attorney-General is asking the court to compel the police to investigate the video and determine whether the alleged statements constitute criminal offences under applicable laws.
The government is also seeking an order directing the police to preserve, authenticate and conduct a forensic examination of the complete video to establish whether it has been altered or edited.
Other reliefs sought include compelling the police to take preventive measures to protect Accord candidates, members and voters from intimidation or harassment before, during and after the election.
The government also wants the police to ensure that registered voters and Accord supporters are not prevented from accessing hotels or other locations during the electoral period.
It further asked the court to order the respondents to submit a report on compliance with the court’s directives within 48 hours of the orders being granted.
In the supporting affidavit, Nurudeen Kareem, Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Legal Matters, said Accord members had expressed “reasonable and legitimate concerns regarding their safety and security before, during, and after the forthcoming election.”
The government argued that the police have a statutory responsibility under the Police Act 2020 and the 1999 Constitution to prevent crime and maintain public order.
It maintained that waiting until violence occurs before investigating an alleged public threat would undermine the preventive role of law enforcement.
“The Applicant believes that waiting until actual violence, deaths, or injuries occur before investigating an alleged public instruction to kill political opponents would amount to a dereliction of duty,” the government said.
The Attorney-General also clarified that the suit was not asking the court to determine Fadahunsi’s criminal guilt, stressing that such a determination would require a proper criminal trial.
Rather, the government said it was seeking to compel the police to carry out their statutory responsibilities and take appropriate preventive action.
With the election scheduled for Saturday, the government said “time is of the absolute essence”, warning that failure to act on the alleged threats could expose residents to “irreparable harm, loss of life, and widespread civil unrest.”
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the Tinubu administration against militarising the Osun governorship election or using state institutions for partisan gain.
Speaking at the ADC National Youth Leadership Summit in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said the Osun poll “is a test” of Nigeria’s ability to conduct credible elections ahead of 2027.
He said the scale of security deployment ahead of the August 15 election looked more like preparation for war than a democratic exercise.
“Elections are civil engagements, not military operations. Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents,” Atiku said.
He also questioned why the same level of security was not being deployed against terrorists, kidnappers and bandits attacking communities across the country.
Atiku cautioned INEC against “mysterious glitches, unexplained delays or manipulation” and demanded timely delivery of materials, unhindered voting, honest counting and transparent transmission of results.
“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC,” he said.
“The world is watching Osun. Nigerians are watching. History is taking notes. Let the people vote. Let every vote count. And let the will of the people prevail.”
Atiku also raised fresh concerns over the Chicago State University certificate submitted to INEC by President Bola Tinubu.
He alleged discrepancies in the document, noting that one version bears June 22, 1979, while another linked to CSU records bears June 27, 1979, with reported differences in signatures and the description of the degree.
He further questioned why the names and signatures of university officials who assumed office years after 1979 reportedly appear on documents dated 1979 and asked whether they were replacement certificates and who authorised them.
Citing Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution on disqualification for presenting a forged certificate to INEC, Atiku said the exact document submitted to INEC must be authenticated.
“Who produced the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC? When was it produced? Who authorised it? Why does it differ from the other version, and does Chicago State University authenticate the exact document submitted to INEC?” he asked.
“If a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?”
On youth participation, Atiku pledged that at least 30 per cent of legislative candidates under his political programme would be below 40 years, with a significant number below 30.
He charged young Nigerians to “Register. Organise. Lead” and turn frustration into political action.
“Anger is not an organisation. A hashtag is not an organisation,” he said.
“Your time is not tomorrow. Your time is now.”
Osun State Police Command has summoned the lawmaker representing Osun East in the Senate, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, over threat he reportedly issued against members of the Accord Party ahead of the Saturday’s governorship poll in the state.
The spokesperson for the command, Abiodun Ojelabi, during a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday confirmed that the lawmaker has been summoned by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election, Samuel Etaifo.
Ojelabi said, “I can confirm that he (Fadahunsi) has been summoned by the CP. We will make a statement available regarding it.”
The PUNCH reports that the lawmaker and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo Otin Federal Constituency in the 2027 general elections, Francis Eniade, came under fire on Tuesday for issuing a threat against the Accord Party members ahead of the next Saturday’s governorship poll.
In a video that circulated on the social media on Tuesday, Fadahunsi, who spoke in Yoruba language, said that any Accord member sighted in Ilesha, Osun State, before Saturday when the election will hold will be killed.
Sources at the scene where Fadahunsi made the controversial speech, told The PUNCH that the lawmaker spoke at the palace of Owa Obokun of Ijesaland in Ilesa, during a protest organised against an alleged killing of three members of the All Progressives Congress in Ilesa on Tuesday.
Speaking in Yoruba language, Fadahunsi said, “How many people have you seen the APC kill? We are here to tell you that until the day of the election, If we see any Accord member in Ilesa, we will kill them.”
In another viral video also obtained on Tuesday, Eniade, who was also addressing a campaign rally, said no Accord member should come out to vote in Odo Otin Local Government Area on the day of the election.
Eniade, who also spoke in Yoruba language, said “I was only waiting for today before I talked. I swear to God, anyone who is not an APC member should not come out on election day. If you said you won’t listen to us, we have warned you ahead. All the votes in Odo-Otin belong to the APC.
“Tell Egbedun (Osun House of Assembly Speaker) that I don’t have his time. I am his elder brother. Accord Party can’t vote in Odo-Otin. I am the one who said so. To the APC members, go back to your ward and unit and tell them that anybody who is not an APC member should not come out to vote.”
Reacting to Fadahunsi’s threat, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, while addressing journalists in Osogbo, demanded the lawmaker’s arrest, saying his utterances can lead to mass killing.
The governor said he had raised the matter with the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, subsequently demanded Fadahunsi’s investigation and arrest, adding that the IGP confirmed the existence of the video and assured him of immediate action.
“The second issue has to do with the viral video of a serving Senator, Francis Fadahunsi, who today called for the killing of Accord Party leaders, supporters and their families. In the video, the Senator even threatened that where they cannot get Accord Party leaders, they should kill their wives and children.
“This is now beyond politics. This is now a national security threat that requires the attention of Mr President through the Office of the National Security Adviser,” the governor said.
Fadahunsi Responds…
Fadahunsi in a statement personally signed by him said his attention has been drawn to an edited video being circulated by Davido on TikTok and Pelumi Olajengbesi on other social media platforms.
He said, “I made reference to one Rogba, who was killed in Esa-Oke by his co-cultists. The governor had referred to the deceased as his son and was also engaged in a disagreement with a sitting member of the House of Representatives on live television. My statement was very clear: if the killings do not stop, we shall also retaliate.
“All those being killed are Nigerians and, indeed, sons and daughters of the same communities. I stated unequivocally that if our party members are killed again, we will not simply fold our arms and watch. We will defend our people, even if such an incident occurs on election day.
“Unfortunately, Davido and Olajengbesi took less than two minutes from a speech that lasted about 24 minutes and circulated it to achieve cheap political objectives. This is a clear case of deliberate misrepresentation and manipulation.”
The Punch
